PHOTOS: Rainbow Kitten Surprise | 5.6.24 @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville

Rainbow Kitten Surprise
Brooklyn Bowl; Nashville, TN
May 6, 2024

Photos by Elizabeth Marsh

It’s been six long years since alt/indie outfit Rainbow Kitten Surprise released their third album, 2018’s How To: Friend, Love, Freefall, and in the time between its release and their latest, Love Hate Music Box, which arrived just days after the group kicked off their current tour at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, a lot has happened with the band and in the world at large. The North Carolina-formed rockers (who’ve lived in Nashville for several years, and as far as we know still do) continued to tour and play fests as their star-power rose, though, like every other artist, were forced to slow down during the pandemic; lead singer Ela Melo came out as transgender in 2022; the group took an indefinite break last year for health reasons, cancelling a planned tour; just this spring, they parted ways with bassist and founding member Charlie Holt; and, most recently, they announced their first new album in years, as well as their first proper U.S. tour since 2022. Returning stronger, more resilient, and more impressive than ever, RKS delivered perhaps the most mesmerizing show they’ve ever played in Nashville (and they’ve played a lot- at Exit/In, Cannery Ballroom, The Ryman, Live on the Green, previously at Brooklyn Bowl, and even Municipal Auditorium), met with a sold out, particularly enthusiastic and hugely supportive crowd.

Brooklyn Bowl is a great sounding venue in general, but still Rainbow Kitten Surprise sounded near-perfect, alternating between tracks of each of their four albums (and a couple of assorted singles), kicking off the show with poppy and propulsive new song “LOL,” before groovy How To: Friend tune “Hide” and then heartfelt debut album cut “Seven.” It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that this band felt like a buzzy upstart, attracting those in the know to stellar early shows in spaces like Exit/In. But RKS have been a really big deal for years now, nabbing high festival billing and performing in giant venues like Municipal Auditorium (even their last time at Brooklyn Bowl was for an impressive three nights), so the fact that their show felt at once huge and arena-primed while also still resonant and intimate was not a surprise, yet it still blew us away. Their production, too, was perhaps the best we’ve seen at Brooklyn Bowl, with illuminated risers and dazzling backlights accentuating the vibe of each song, awash with bold and bright color.

From the moodier tunes like “All’s Well That Ends,” to the anthemic and resonate like “Devil Like to Me” to the soulful and propulsive like “Fever Pitch,” to great new songs like “SVO,” “Overtime,” and “Meticulous,” the whole show felt like a triumphant return for a band who’s future seemed somewhat in doubt not so long ago, and who are only back because they want to be- or perhaps need to be- on their terms, and with this sincere and essential mode of artistic expression. By the end of the show, with set closer “Matchbox” and then an encore of “Superstar” and “It’s Called: Freefall,” it was clear that both the band and everyone in attendance felt the magic of this much-needed return to stage and to Music City, and it’s hard to properly articulate just how grateful we are to see RKS back, healthy, and with some incredible new music in tow!

All photos by Elizabeth Marsh

_

Setlist:

LOL
Hide
Seven
Moody Orange
All’s Well That Ends
SVO
Goodnight Chicago
Devil Like Me
Our Song
Overtime
First Class
Fever Pitch
Drop Stop Roll
When It Lands
Sickset
That’s My Shit
Meticulous
Cocaine Jesus
Matchbox

Superstar
It’s Called: Freefall